Drawer front shaping and grooving machine



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April 22,1952 GlLLESPlE 2,593,745

DRAWER FRONT SHAPING AND GROOVING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 7, 1947 I Zhwentor fbeisr b6 uzzsp/z,

(Ittorneg April 22, 1952 F. H. GILLESPIE DRAWER FRONT SHAPING AND GROOVING MACHINE Filed Apfil 7, 1947 4 Sheets- -Sheet 2 3nventor A'zezsrbi /uzs /z,

April 22, 1952 GILLESPIE 2,593,745

DRAWER FRONT SHAPING AND GROOVING MACHINE Filed April '7, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 3nnento1:

(Ittorneg April A2, 1952 F. H. GILLESPIE 2,593,745

DRAWER FRONT SHAPING AND GROOVING MACHINE Filed April 7, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Era. Z0.

3nventor Fbezsr/i 6744:5245,

Gttorneg Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UN 3 TE DRAWER FRONT SHAPING AND GROOVING MACHINE Forest H. Gillespie, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application April 7, 1947, Serial No. 739,758

In quantity manufacture, however, such individual hand work is impractical and excessively expensive. It has been the practice therefore, in the quantity manufacture of furniture to cut and stock large numbers of parts which are later assembled into the finished article. If the various cutting operations on these individual parts are performed seriatim, the cost becomes excessive, since separate operators are required for each cutting machine and the length of time consumed in finishing one part is very much greater than it would be if all or a majority of the cutting operations could be performed simultaneously.

Another disadvantage that arises from the consecutive operation method in the fabrication of wood parts, is caused by the fact that the exact dimension of the part is determined by the pressure exerted by the operator against guide memhers in the cutting machine. Thus for example, the vertical height of a drawer front which is cut to size in one operation and grooved in another, is dependent on the pressures that the two operators apply against the lateral guide members of their respective machines.

If, on the other hand, the drawer front just referred to, is cut to size and grooved in the same operation, the placement of the groove and the width will be the same for all parts out on the same machine.

It is then, a major object of my invention to provide a wood working machine for cutting and shaping drawer fronts in which the operations are performed simultaneously for the purpose of saving time.

It is another object of the invention to incorporate in a machine of the class described, power feeding mechanism whereby variations in the rate and pressure of feed are eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the class described which is adjustable to produce drawer fronts and similar parts of various sizes and shapes.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description.

Briefly described, the apparatus embodying the 2 Claims. (Cl. 144-3) invention comprises a number of component assemblies each of which will be described in detail and which are briefly listed as follows.

1. A horizontal work table.

2. A lateral guide for work moving on said table.

3. A conveyor mechanism for moving work across said table while in contact with said guide.

4. A horizontal working spindle positioned beneath the table and carrying cutting tools adapted to operate on said moving work piece.

5. A substantially vertical working spindle carrying a cutting tool adapted to simultaneously operate on said work piece.

6. A mechanism for positioning said horizontal spindle.

7. A mechanism for positioning said vertical spindle.

For a more detailed description of apparatus embodying the invention, reference should now be had to the attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a drawer front shaping machine embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational section taken on the line 3-3 in Figure 1; ,7

Figure 4 is an elevational section taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 (Sheet 1) is an elevational section taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 (Sheet 2) is an elevational section taken on the line 6-6 in Figure 2;

Figure '7 (Sheet 4) is an enlarged portion of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an elevational section taken on the line 8-8 in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is an elevational end view of a work piece as shaped in the apparatus depicted; and,

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the work piece illustrated in Figure 9 showing the position thereof when attached to a drawer.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, it will be seen that the wood working machine embodying my invention is mounted in a chassis which takes the general form of a four-legged table having a flat horizontal top l8 supported on four vertical legs 22, the legs being braced together at the top by means of a rectangular upper frame 21, and at the bottom by a similar frame 20. Incorporated with the lower frame 20 is a motor base frame Hi, the purpose of which will be described in detail later'herein. I

A work piece 33 operated on by my wood working machine moves across the upper surface of the table [8 from right to left as viewed in Figure 1. All mechanism for guiding and feeding the. work piece 33 is situated generally above the upper surface of the table I8 and is described in etail as follows. A lateral guide member 36 comprised of a right-hand extension 35, a channel 42, and a channel 43, extends the width of the table surface it and the work piece 33 is held in sliding contact with the guide 36 during its travel from right to left across the table 58. The tWo channel portions 42 and 43 of the guide member 36 are disposed with their flanges extending upwardly and are connected together in substantial alignment by means of an arched bridge member 37 best seen in Figure 4.

The guide 36 is adapted to be adjusted toward or away from the front of the table by means of a pair of racks 45 and 46 secured to the channels 43 and 42 respectively, a spacer block 44 being provided under the end of the rack 45 to fill the space between the flanges of the channel 43. The racks 45 and 43 extend rearwardly from the guide 36 and are engaged by a pair of pinions 47. The two pinions 4'! are keyed to a shaft 49 journalled in bearings 59, which in turn are secured to the table 53. A hand wheel 52 is provided for the purpose of rotating the shaft 49 and pinions whereby to feed the two racks and hence the guide 36 toward or away from the front of the table It. A downwardly extending gib 38 is provided on the left-hand endof the guide 36 to hold this end in alignment with the left edge of the table it. A similar gib 49 and a clamping screw 33 are secured to the guide adjacent therighthand edge of the table whereby to clamp the guide 36 to the table at any point to which it is adjusted. The operation of the clamping bolt 39 may be best seen in Figure wherein it will be seen that the gib 46 extends under the righthand member of the frame 2! whereby tightening of the bolt 36 forces the gib upwardly against the frame member whereby to clamp the guide 35 in place. Each section 42 and 43 of the guide 33 is supported slightly above the surface of the table [3 on a pair of pads 4|, one of which is shown in Figure 5.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the forward edges of the guide sections 42 and 43 are offset, the edge of 43 being slightly forward of the edge 42. The purpose of this arrangement is to allow for the amount of stock removed from the edge of' the work piece as it moves through the apparatus, and to maintain said work piece in con-,

tinuous contact with both of the guidesections 42 and 43.

In order to feed the work piece from right to left across the table surface, as previously described, I provide an endless chain conveyor feed, the nature of which is best understood from an examination of Figures 1 and 2. The conveyor mechanism is supported generally on a pair of upstanding plates 36 and 6! secured to the upper surface of the table I8 by means of brackets 59. The feeding operation of the conveyor isaccomplished by an endless chain 62, each link of which carries a resilient friction pad 63 of rubber or similar material which is positioned to contact the upper surface of the work piece 33. The chain 62 is carried by a pair of sprockets 64 and 65 secured to the forward ends of a pair of parallel shafts 69 and 6'! journally mounted in bearings 63 secured in pairs to the plates and 6| respectively. The left-hand sprocket shaft 66 is driven by a motor F9 through a power transmission comprising a gear reduction 7 I, a drive chain 72, and a drive sprocket l3 keyed to the shaft 66. As can be seen in Figure 3, the motor 19 is mounted to the upper surface of the table [8.

As can be seen best in Figures 2 and 3, anad justable pressure bar 74 is P ovided which con= tacts the upper-surface of the lower free length of the chain 62. The purpose of this pressure bar '14 is to hold the pads 63 in tight contact with the Work piece 33 and also to accommodate the feed mechanism to various thicknesses of work. The chain 62 is left somewhat loose on its sprockets 64 and 65 and the pressure bar i i adjusted vertically by means of a bolt '15 threadedly engaged with the stud 76 secured in the bar It. When the bar 14 has been adjusted to the desired elevation above the table l8 it is secured in place by tightening nuts 71 threaded onto the studs 16. An angle member I8 extending between support plates 60 and 61 supports the pressure bar 14 and provides an anchor for the adjusting bolts 15 which pass through the upper flange thereof.

It is to be noted that the line of motion of the pads 63 across the table 13 is not quite parallel with the forward edge of the guide 39. As has been indicated in Figure 7 by the centerline marked CL, this direction of feed motion is slightly toward the guide 33. Thus since the feed motion has a slight component in the direction of the guide 36, the work piece 33 is held in tight and unvarying pressure contact with the guiding edge at all times during its travel through the mechanism. In order to further avoid any tendency of the work to twist sideways and jam, the conveyor pads are positioned to contact the work along a line of thrust substantially mid-way between the po-ints at which the work pieceis cut as it moves. Thus the reactive moments on either side of the thrust line CL aresubstantially equal and there is no rotary movement applied to the work piece.

In order to materially reduce the frictional resistance of the work piece in its travel across the table, a number of idler rollers situated just below the surface of the table it, but projecting therethrough, are provided. These rollers 27, 28, 29 and 39 are mounted on shafts 32 held in journal bearings 31 secured to the under surface of the table.

Thus far a mechanism has been .described which is capable of moving a work piece 33 across the top of a horizontal table in constant, unvarying pressure contact with a longitudinal guide member. It is desired during the motion of the work piece 33 to perform three cutting operations thereon. Referring to Figure 9, it will be noted that these three cutting operations produce the following three results. First, a drawer front 89 is cut from the work piece 33, such cutting being along the edge indicated in Figure 9 by the number 6|. Second, a longitudinal groove 82 is formed in the drawer front at a predetermined distance from its edges. Thirdly, the top edge 83 of the drawer front 80 is beveled at an angle indicated by the letter min Figure 9.

The operations performing the cut edge SI and the groove 82 are performed by a rip saw 96 and a grooving cutter 9| respectively, both of which are mounted on a drive arbor 92. The left-hand end of the arbor 92 is threaded and a nut I96 is provided for the purpose of clamping the cutter 9| and the saw 99 thereto. The arbor 92 is journally held in bearings 93, which in turn are supported by the upper surface of a transverse chan nel member 94. Channel 94 is in turn supported above a bed plate 99 by means of diagonal stanchions 95. Also secured to the bed 99 is a drive motor 96 which drives the arbor 92 through V-belting 97. The base 98 of the motor is hinged to the bed 99 as shown in Figure 2, and the for- 5 ward unhinged end is provided with an adjustment bolt I92 whereby the motor may be adjusted vertically with respect to the arbor 9-2 whereby to suitably tighten the belt 91.

The bed plate 99 which carries the motor 96 and the arbor 92 is in turn articulately supported on the support frame I 9 previously described. This articulate support for the bed plate 99 comprises a hinge I99 at the rearward or left-hand end and a turnbuckle I M at the forward or righthand end, said turnbuckle being anchored at its upper end to the upper frame 2I, of the table structure. Thus, by manipulation of the turnbuckle IIII the entire horizontal spindle assembly, including the motor 96 and the arbor 92, may be raised or lowered with respect to the table surface I8 whereby toadjust the vertical position of the saw 99 and the groove cutter 9 I.

Adjustment of the position of the groove 82 with respect to the edge M is achieved by means of spacer I95 placed on the arbor 92 between the cutter 9| and the saw 99.

The beveled edge 83 is formed on the drawer front 99 by a rotary shaper, the nature of which is best seen from an examination of Figures 3 andv 4. The rotary shaper assembly comprises a generally vertical spindle H9 driven by a motor I99 carrying on its upper enda multiple-toothed cutter III secured to the spindle II by a nut I I9. The motor I99 is secured to a laterally movable bed I I2 carried in dovetailed Ways 'I I3. The ways II3 are supported by a pairof stanchions I I4 secured at their lower ends to the base frame 29 by means of brackets I- I 5 and supported at their upper ends by bracing 4' depending from the under surface of the table I3. The bed H2 and the parts carried thereby are adjustable laterally by means of a lead screw I I1 threadedly engaged with a lead nut II6 secured to the bed II 2. The rearward end of the lead screw III is rotatably carried in a fixed journal formed in a vertical strut I I8 and is provided with a hand wheel II9 whereby the bed may be adjusted to the desired lateral position by rotation of the hand wheel I I9.

As will be noted in Figure 4, the arched shape of the bridge member 31 is such as to clear the upper end of the cutter I I I, thus to permit transverse adjustment thereof to bring the forward or cutting edge in substantial alignment with the forward edge of the guide 36. The respective directions of rotation of the arbor 92 and the spindle III] are indicated in Figures 7 and 8. It will be noted that when rotated asshown, the action of the various cutting members on the work piece 33 tends to oppose the feed motion thereof. The conveyor is of course, powerful enough to overcome such opposition and the resultant feed motion is steady and the cut surfaces are smooth as a result.

As will also be noted in Figure 4, the axis of the spindle H9 is canted somewhat against the direction of feed motion of the work piece 33. Thus the reaction of the cutting .edges on the cutter I II has a slight downward component whereby to hold the work piece 33 .down against the anti-friction rollers 21 through 39.

It will be noted that the mechanical power necessary to operate my wood working apparatus is derived from three separate motors I9, 96, and I99. The electric power supply for the. three motors is supplied through suitable circuit wiring I29, which is brought to a common switch box I22 for common connection with incoming power mains I 2|. In the presently illustrated embodiment the power suppl is controlled by a single lever multiple pole switch I23. It is obvious, however, that separate switches may be incorporated in each of the motor circuits whereby to independently control said motors.

In order to protect the operator against accidental entanglement with the feed mechanism or inadvertent contact with the cutting members, a guard I24 is secured to the support plates 69 and BI at the forward upper corners thereof and overhangs the feed mechanism. Additional guards may, if desired, be provided to cover the saw 99 and the groove 9I. Since the work piece 93 is automatically advanced through the apparatus by the chain 62 and the friction pads 63, however, there is little chance of the operators hand coming into accidental contact with the saw 99.

In the operation of the device just described, the stock forming the work piece 33 is first cut to the desired width b as shown in Figue 1. This width cutting operation is preferably performed on a conventional gang saw (not shown);

The preparatory adjustment of the apparatus is as follows: the desired spacing of the saw 99 and the cutter SM is achieved by the selection of a suitable width spacer I95, and the saw spacer and cutter are secured to the arbor 92' by means of the nut I96; The elevation of the arbor 92 is then adjusted by manipulation of the turnbuckle I9I to bring the periphery of the cutter 9| to a predetermined height above the surface of the table I8, thus to adjust for the depth of the groove 82. Next the lateral position of the guide 36 is adjusted with respect to the back surface of the saw 99, thus to adjust for the dimension 0 shown in Figure 9. The guide mem ber 36 is then clamped in place by means of a clamping bolt 39 and the vertical spindle assembly is adjusted laterally to bring the forward cut ting; edge of the cutter I I I in alignment with the forward edge of the guide 36. In this connection it should be noted that the alignment of the' cutter III is with the forward edge of the channel 93 whereby the work piece 33 is kept in continu-- ous contact with the forward edge of the guide 36 as shown in Figure 7.

The foregoing adjustments having been made, the cutting and feeding mechanisms are set in motion through operation of the switch I23 and the work piece 33 is fed into the machine from the right. The work pieces 33 are of considerable length whereby a number of drawer fronts 89 may be cut from a single piece.

The arrangement of the drawer front in a drawer is illustrated in Figure 10 wherein it will be seen that the roove 82 is adapted to receive the bottom of the drawer, whereas the sides may be secured to the drawer front 89 by dovetailing or other suitable means (not shown). It will also be seen from an examination of Figure 10 that the beveled edge 83 of the drawer front 89 is such as to provide a slight wedging action as the drawer is closed, thus to prevent rattling of the closed drawer while still permitting the withdrawal thereof.

While the apparatus shown and described herein is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it will be realized that modifications are possible within the spirit of the invention. For this reason I do not mean to be limited to,the specific form shown and described herein, but rather to the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In wood working apparatus of the class described a horizontal table having means thereon adapted to guide a work piece moved in sliding contact therewith along said table; rotary saw and cutter means adapted and positioned to separate and groove a portion of said work piece during said motion thereof; and a rotary edge shaping tool mounted adjacent said table, p0- sitioned to shape an edge of said separated portion, said edge shaping tool rotating to move cuttin edges therein against said work piece movement and having its rotary axis tilted against the direction of motion of said work piece whereby the action of said shaping tool forces said work piece against said table.

2. In wood working apparatus of the class described: a horizontal table; transverse antifriction rollers journalled beneath said table and projecting therethrough; a work arbor supporting frame having an end hingedly secured beneath said table; a horizontal transverse arbor journally mounted in said frame; a saw and cutter secured to said arbor and projecting through said table whereby to operate on, and form one edge of a work piece moving along said table; adjustable means connecting an unhinged end of said frame to said table, said connecting means being adapted to raise and lower said frame whereby to adjust to vertical position of said saw and cutter means; a longitudinal guide slidably mounted on said table having an edge thereof adapted to guide a work piece in sliding engagement with a second edge thereof opposite said first mentioned edge; a rotary shaping tool mounted in transverse ways secured to said table and having a cutting edge disposed adacent the surface of said table whereby to shape said second edge of said work piece, said shaping tool being tilted against the direction of motion of said work piece whereby to hold said work piece down against said rollers during said motion;

lead means to move said tool in said ways whereby to place the cutting edge thereof in substantial alignment with said guide; and conveyor mechanism to move said work piece as stated, said mechanism including a pair of sprockets journally held adjacent said table, an endless chain on said sprockets, friction pads on the FOREST H. GILLESPIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 4,017 Throckmorton May 1, 1845 40,269 Lee Oct. 13,1863 200,992 Du Bois Mar. 5, 1878 238,875 Fay Mar. 15, 188. 250,181 Andrews Nov. 29, 1881 361,436 McCully Apr. 19, 1887 362,896 Mahaffey May 10, 1887 373,493 Snedeker Nov. 22, 1887 405,389 Autenrieth June 18, 1889 521,224 Southard June 12, 1894 661,542 Linderman Nov. 13, 1900 834,299 Heckel Oct. 30, 1906 1,322,528 Brokaw et a]. Nov. 25,1919 1,335,547 Bartholomew et a1. Mar. 30, 1920 1,529,806 Oettal Mar. 17, 1925 1,596,116 Patterson et a1. Aug. 17, 1926 1,600,640 Madsen Sept. 21, 1926 1,619,057 Coffey Mar. 1, 1927 1,695,188 Henkel Dec. 11, 1928 1,756,296 Madsen Apr. 29, 1930 1,795,953 Johnson Mar. 10, 19 1 1,826,222 Peterson Oct. 6, 1931 1,834,684 Dannehower Dec. 1, 1931 1,942,873 Narrow Jan. 9, 1934 2,076,511 Hedgpeth Apr. 6, 1937 2,117,641 Westlund May 17, 1938 2,305,525 Gustin Dec. 15, 1942 2,400,667 Toews May 21, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Great Britain June 1, 1827 

